The University of South Florida Bulls head to Philadelphia on Saturday to visit the Temple University Owls. Both teams are winless against FBS competition in this pandemic altered season.

Temple is coming into the game with an 0-1 record after a 31-29 loss to Navy in their only game this season. Four of their first five games have been cancelled due to COVID-19.

The Bulls are just 1-3 and trying to move past a bad loss to ECU, 44-24, in their last game. Their only victory was against FCS The Citadel in their season opener.

This game will be the sixth matchup between the programs with Temple holding a 4-2 advantage in the series. In their last meeting, Temple beat the Bulls 17-7 in Tampa. The last time these teams played at Lincoln Financial Field, Temple came back from being down 17-0, scoring 27 unanswered points to win the game.

USF Offense

The USF coaching staff has finally settled on a quarterback. Jordan McCloud, who had the most starts for the Bulls, last season, has earned the starting role. McCloud has gotten the overwhelming majority of the attempts (86/133) in the quarterback competition, so it isn’t a big surprise that he was favored by the staff. He has passed for 567 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, this season. Last season, he passed for 1,429 yards, 12 touch downs, and eight interceptions.

On the receiving end of the ball, McCloud will have lots of options. Latrell Williams has moved into the leading role after a big game against ECU, eight catches for 93 yards. He has edged out DeVontres Dukes, who also has 12 catches, with 142 yards and a touchdown. Also active in the passing game are graduate transfer tight end, Mitchell Brinkman, and slot receiver, Bryce Miller, who have 116 and 94 yards, respectively.

Running the ball is the running back tandem of Johnny For and Kelley Joiner, who have nearly even attempts and combine for nearly 350 yards of rushing and four touchdowns, three of which belong to Ford. While he hasn’t shown much on the stats sheet yet, the coaches are working hard to get Leo Parker into the mix. Parker has 51 rushing yards, but bigger size than the other backs. He started the season as a defensive back, but the coaches asked him to switch sides to give them more running options.

As a team, the Bulls are one of the worst performing in the country in scoring offense (74th of 76, 13 ppg), and passing offense (64th, 185 ypg). The rushing group ranks 49th in the nation.

Temple Defense

Having played just one game, there isn’t much data on Temple. They’re ranked 12th in total defense, allowing Navy just 299 yards. Linebackers, Isaiah Graham-Mobley and William Kwenkeu led the team in tackles against the Midshipmen, with 14 and 11, respectively. Graham-Mobley is one of five Owls to log a tackle for loss, which was a sack against Navy. It is worth noting that Navy’s triple option offense is unusual in college football and Temple’s performance against it may or may not be relevant than against more typical offenses.

Last season, the Owls ranked 54th in total defense and 46th in scoring defense.

Temple Offense

On offense, there is a bit more revealed in Temple’s one game. Leading the offense for the past three seasons is Anthony Russo. Russo had 206 yards passing in the Navy game, with one touchdown and one interception. Last season, he passed for 2,861 yards with 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

His favorite targets this season have been Branden Mack, 80 yards and a touchdown, and David Martin-Robinson, 72 receiving yards. Also getting significant looks are Randle Jones and Jadan Blue.

On the ground, Re-Mahn Davis has been the leader since last season. In the Navy game, he ran for 97 yards and a touchdown. Last season, he ran for 936 yards and eight touchdowns. While not a big runner, Russo did run in two touchdowns against the Midshipmen. The Owls rank 41st in rushing offense after one game.

Temple ranks 43rd in total offense and 45th in scoring offense.

USF Defense

The Bulls’ defense has been inconsistent this year. After allowing 52 points to Notre Dame, they kept Cincinnati to a reasonable 28, only to let ECU score 44. Like other teams, they have been missing some players due to COVID-19.

Linebacker, Antonio Grier, leads the defense with 33 total tackles, followed closely by defensive back, Nick Roberts, with 31. One guy who has made the most of others being unavailable to play is freshman Mac Harris, who is tied for third in tackles with 22. Grier is also the only Bull to log a sack, and he has three.

Expectations

Expect to see the Bulls offense continue to try to improve against a defense that is still a bit unknown. Expect Russo to perform to his averages without much challenge from the USF defense, who were not able to slow down ECU last week.

Summary

The Bulls are nearly two touchdown underdogs and ESPN’s Football Power Index computers predict a 73% chance of a Temple win. The game is available for viewing on ESPN+.